In the past couple of weeks, opinion polls have indicated a tight race across the three major Canadian parties—the Conservative Party of Canada (the Tories), the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Liberal Party of Canada (the Grits)—showing a strong possibility that Canada may end up with a minority government, come October.

Both Stephen Harper and Hillary Clinton are aware that generational politics can trump the experience card. But they are also conscious that experienced leaders like Angela Merkel and Benjamin Netanyahu have also recently won elections largely propelled by their track record.